


Of Children and Kittens

by bendingwind



Category: Marvel (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Fluff and Crack, I Don't Even Know, no cats were kidnapped in the making of this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-28 22:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bendingwind/pseuds/bendingwind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Agents and staff, apparently, have started pestering Pepper about when she’s going to settle down and start a family. And Pepper, apparently, wants to do exactly that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Children and Kittens

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whereigowhenimnothere](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=whereigowhenimnothere).



> Based on a prompt from whereigowhenimnothere on tumblr:
> 
>  
> 
> _Pepper/natasha starting an unexpected family together._
> 
>  
> 
> Credit for the particular turn this story takes goes to coffeesuperhero, with whom I should never be left unsupervised.

Pepper never says anything about it. That doesn’t surprise Natasha; Pepper rarely says things that she thinks will be upsetting unless she loses her temper completely.

Making her lose her temper is one of Natasha’s favorite pastimes. 

So Pepper never says anything, but Natasha knows every whisper of gossip that’s uttered on the Helicarrier. She knows about the comments, Pepper’s replies, watches Pepper find fewer and fewer excuses to drop by the Helicarrier for a visit.

Agents and staff, apparently, have started pestering Pepper about when she’s going to settle down and start a family. And Pepper, apparently, wants to do exactly that.

Natasha is not exactly a family type of woman.

And then Pepper stops coming by the Helicarrier entirely. She holds Stark Interprise conferences with SHIELD via satellite broadcast instead of coming in person. She disappears into their apartment when SHIELD agents stop by Avengers Tower. And then, finally, she doesn’t appear in the crowd of civilian invitees when Natasha sits on the stage for an Avengers press conference.

Natasha goes home after, and she starts to plan. It’s easy enough to hack into Pepper’s computer records and even easier to obtain her internet history; later, Natasha will have to remind her to erase her internet history more often. It only takes her fifteen minutes to find what she’s looking for, and she shuts the laptop down with a smirk.

She’s on a plane half an hour later.

* * *

“So,” Natasha says, leaning against the table in the entryway of their apartment. Pepper’s sitting on their couch, glued to her computer screen.

“Hey,” Pepper says, glancing up and smiling before returning to her work.

“I heard that you wanted to start a family,” Natasha continues, blithely. This time, Pepper’s head snaps up, and she squints and frowns at Natasha.

“What?” she asks, adorably confused.

“Gossip around SHIELD claims that you’re looking to start a family, with, you know, children. I hadn’t really pegged you for the mothering type, and I know I’m not.”

“Nat--” Pepper starts, but Natasha has an important speech to finish.

“I got you something,” she interrupts, and holds up the box at her side. There’s a thump, and it wiggles menacingly.

Pepper’s jaw drops, just a little.

“What--?”

Natasha sweeps over to sit beside her on the couch, opens the box, and smoothly plants a small bundle of fur with a compact, squashed face and distinctive markings on Pepper’s lap, displacing the laptop in the process.

Pepper stares at it uncomprehendingly.

“Did you--Nat, did you find me a cat that looks exactly like Grumpy Cat?” Pepper asks, utterly bemused.

“Of course not,” Natasha says primly. As if she would do anything so half-assed.

Pepper stares at her uncertainly for a moment.

“Did you _kidnap_ Grumpy Cat and bring him to me?”

“Her name is Tartar Sauce,” Natasha answers. “And her owners were willing to give her up once I named the correct price.”

“You threatened them, didn’t you?” Pepper sounds absolutely exasperated.

“You wanted a family. I am willing to compromise with a pet, so I wanted to ensure you had the pet that you most desired.”

Pepper is clearly distracted by the fluffy little cat glaring up at her.

“Do you like her?” Natasha asks, after a moment. She would like to deny that she’s a little nervous, but she can’t. She doesn’t know what she’ll do if Pepper insists on having actual, literal _babies_ that puke and cry and require attention all the time.

After a minute of cuddling Tartar Sauce, Pepper sighs and looks back up at Natasha.

“You have to take her back, you know,” Pepper says, with that particular quirk of her lip that means she’s trying not to laugh and always makes Natasha want to kiss her. Before Natasha can stop being distracted by her wife’s lips and protest, Pepper continues. “I’d like to get a cat through slightly more legal channels, though. Pets are nice, and cats are probably low-maintenance enough to not be disadvantaged by our lifestyle.”

Natasha frowns a little at her, trying to suss out where exactly this is going.

“You did all this because you heard I wanted kids?” Pepper asks, gently.

Natasha hums her agreement. No one can deny that she’s a problem-solver.

“I don’t even like kids,” Pepper says, her amused smile growing wider. “Why on earth would you think I wanted to start a family?”

“I hear that’s what normal people do,” Natasha says, but she’s mumbling a little now. How embarrassing. She hates it when she accidentally solves problems that don’t exist.

“What,” Pepper begins, leaning forward to press a kiss against Natasha’s lips, “makes you,” another kiss, “think that we’re,” and another, “normal?”

“You’re pretty normal,” Natasha protests, dodging another kiss, “at least compared to everyone else I know.”

Pepper grins, and manages to land the next kiss on the side of Natasha’s mouth. She’s surprisingly good for someone without training.

“That’s really what’s been bothering you all month? You thought I wanted to start a family?”

Natasha shrugs, and looks away.

“I already _have_ a family. I’ve got you, and Steve, and Phil, and all the other Avengers, and Tony is more than enough of a child for me, thanks.”

“Okay,” Natasha says. She’s trained to read people, and she knows that Pepper isn’t lying. It takes conscious effort, but she’s able to force the tension out of her body, force the worry out of her mind, and relax.

Pepper pulls her in for more kissing, then.

* * *

“So what kind of cat do you want, if Tartar Sauce wasn’t good enough for you?” Natasha asks, much later.

Pepper just laughs and rolls over on top of her.


End file.
